Chinese Imports: US Manufacturers File Petition Against Antidumping of Mattresses From China

November 23, 2018

A group of American manufacturers has petitioned the government to conduct an antidumping probe into China’s ‘unfairly traded’ finished mattresses.

The petition was filed by several members of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) based out of Alexandria, VA. ISPA has extended its support to the members who have signed the petition.

In a statement, ISPA said that it was closely monitoring the unchecked imports of mattresses from China on behalf of the sleep products industry.

They further stated that as per their 2017 Mattress Industry Trends Report, there was a sharp decline in US manufactured mattresses shipments in the years between 2016 and 2017.

During the same period, there was an exponential increase of nearly 100 percent in the volume of mattresses imported. This was the first time in nearly a decade that US shipments decreased compared to the previous year.

American Jobs under Threat

The ISPA affirmed that its members directly support thousands of manufacturing and related jobs in the industry on a national and global level. There is heavy investment in both research and development of technologies to create world class products by the US sleep product manufacturers.

This investment is required in order to manufacture and sell products that are safe and provide customers a healthy sleep. The ISPA pointed out that its members have a legal right under the US jurisdiction and global trade laws to compete for a level playing field.

The bedding industry’s trade association also made a statement promoting fair and free trade on a global level. However, it recognized the need for companies to respect rules that governed international trade.

According to the ISPA, the petition challenges the rates at which Chinese mattresses, which includes the popular memory foam mattress, are being sold. They said that the mattresses were being dumped at low prices, resulting in a major jump in imports that had begun to damage the entire US mattress industry.

The ISPA expounded on the immediate need for US International Trade Commission and US Department of Commerce to conduct a thorough investigation on the claims listed in the petition. They called for appropriate relief under the US law to be provided to the country’s mattress industry.

The petition focuses on the potential damage to the US mattress industry because of the Chinese imports of inner spring and foam mattresses. ISPA claims that imports have continued to rise through 2018 after registering a 218% increase between 2015 and 2017.

They highlighted the loss of US jobs as the American mattress manufacturers were losing out due to the dumping prices from China.

US Launches Investigation

The United States opened a probe into the alleged dumping of China exported mattresses in October on the basis of complaints filed by multiple US manufacturers.

The department stated that they would impose duties on Chinese exporters if they find any validity in the claims made by the US manufacturers. As per the department the amount of Chinese mattress imports was estimated to be $436.5 million in 2017.

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